GREENWOOD – The University of Montevallo outscored the Lander Bearcats 15-4 in overtime as the defending Division II national runners-up Falcons won the Peach Belt Conference game 74-63 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena. Lander had rallied from a 15-point second half deficit, tying the game at 59 on David Pruett's 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

Montevallo improved to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the PBC. The Bearcats fell to 6-5, 1-3.

Drico Hightower posted a double-double with game highs in points (18) and rebounds (11) to lead the Falcons.

Troran Brown and Marvin Fitzgerald added 14 points apiece for Montevallo, while Ryan May and Jonas Brown each scored 13. Troran Brown led the Falcons with six assists while Fitzgerald had five steals.

Pruett, scoreless until 9:09 was left in the game, and Darius Carrier led the Bearcats with 13 points apiece.

Jareal Smith added nine points for Lander and shared team-high honors in assists (five) with Jamal Branco. Scott Elder added seven points and six rebounds, with most of that coming during Lander's rally.

Montevallo shot extremely well in the first half and in overtime. The Falcons made 24 of 45 shots overall (53 percent), including 12 of 18 in the first half (67 percent) and six of seven in overtime (86 percent). Montevallo hit 17 of 25 free throws (60 percent) and nine of 15 from 3-point range (68 percent).

The Bearcats made 20 of 56 shots (36 percent), 17 of 25 free throws (68 percent) and six of 19 from behind the arc (32 percent).

Montevallo had a 37-28 edge on the boards and committed 21 turnovers to 15 for Lander.

Trailing 49-34 with 12 minutes left, the Bearcats used a 19-2 run to turn that deficit into a 53-51 lead with 6:51 to go.

Elder started the rally with a 3, Elder added a free throw, Branco made a 3, Jareal Smith hit a fall-away jumper, Pruett was fouled outside the arc and made three free throws, and Pruett made a driving layup to pull Lander within 49-48 with 8:28 left in regulation.

After Troran Brown scored to end the Bearcats' 15-point run, Branco found Pruett open for a game-tying 3, making it 51-all with 7:30 left.

Pruett hit two free throws, giving Lander its first lead of the game at 53-51 with 6:51 to go.

Neither team scored until the 3:07 mark when Elder hit one of two free throws, giving the Bearcats a 54-51 advantage.

Hightower ended a five-minute stretch of no field goals for either team when he scored in the lane to pull Montevallo within 54-53 with 2:35 to go.

Jonas Brown's two free throws put the Falcons back on top, 55-54, with 1:50 left. Then Dermaine Smith hit two free throws, giving Lander the lead again at 56-55 with 1:34 to go.

The lead changed hands again on Fitzgerald's layup to make it 57-56 Montevallo with 1:10 left.

Lander's Jareal Smith missed a long jumper inside the minute-mark, but a teammate grabbed the offensive rebound and the Bearcats wound the clock down. But Jareal Smith was called for a charge with 22 seconds left, and Montevallo's Danny Cummins hit two free throws for a 59-56 Falcons lead with 20 seconds to go.

Jareal Smith then found Pruett open at the top of the key, and Pruett banked the 3-pointer to tie the game at 59 with nine seconds left. Montevallo's Troran Brown missed a 3 and the game went into overtime.

Hightower scored in the first minute of overtime, giving the Falcons the lead for good. Jonas Brown's 3 extended the lead to 64-59, and Fitzgerald's trey upped the lead to eight.

Carrier's follow-up basket with 2:19 left was Lander's first basket of overtime, pulling the Bearcats within 68-61. But the Falcons scored three straight baskets to put the game away.

Montevallo jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the game's first five minutes on four 3s in as many attempts, with May hitting two and Jonas Brown also making two.

Lander slowly chipped away, closing within 15-12 on Jareal Smith's long jumper from the right corner and 17-14 with 11:25 left on Chidozie Omile's layup off Jareal Smith's entry pass.

May's 3 from the right wing and Troran Brown's long trey from the left side upped Montevallo's advantage to nine, 23-14, with 8:46 to go. The Falcons were 6-for-6 from behind the arc at this point.

Hightower's free throws pushed the Falcon lead into double figures for the first time at 25-14 at the 8:22 mark.

Carrier's two free throws ended Montevallo's 8-0 run, pulling Lander within 25-16 with 8:10 left. But Fitzgerald's layup pushed the lead back to 11 as the Falcons were now 8-for-10 (80 percent) from the floor.

Fitzgerald's jumper gave Montevallo its largest lead of the first half at 33-21 at the three-minute mark, and the Falcons were now shooting 85 percent (11 of 13).

Montevallo finally missed a 3-point attempt with 2:14 left when Troran Brown's long shot appeared to be going in but spun out, and Fitzgerald's missed jumper on the team's next possession finally put the Falcons under 80 percent shooting.

Omile's 3-pointer pulled Lander within 33-24 at the minute mark, and Troran Brown scored with 10 seconds left for a 35-24 halftime lead. Montevallo wound up 67 percent in the first half (12-for-18) to 35 percent for Lander (9-for-26).

The Falcons extended their lead to 41-28 at the 18-minute mark when May converted a four-point play after being knocked to the floor on a 3-pointer. Montevallo upped its lead to 49-34 on Troran Brown's two free throws with 12 minutes to go, and the lead was seemingly safe.